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4 Edwin S. Gorham 

^ Publisher 

I 11 Wo 45th St.. New York 




Class _^ 
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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



COMFORT WORDS 

For Those Who Mourn 



REV. J/'i/SCHAAD 

Author of *'Only a Man?" "Only a 
Myth?" *'Only a Mask" 



NEW YORK 

EDWIN S. GORHAM, PUBLISHER 

37 East 28th St. 

1914 



,S3 



eOPYRIGHTEB 

1918 

J, A aCHAAD 



NOV -6 1914 



>Gf,A388318 



AUTHOR'S STATEMENT 

The following pages are devoted to a 
consideration of some known facts and 
reasonable theories regarding the state 
of the departed and of our possible re- 
lations to them. 

There are doubtless many persons 
who hold either more or less than is 
claimed here. The view one takes may 
be largely a question of temperament 
or of environment. For this reason I 
have adopted a standard and method of 
procedure here which is, so far as possi- 
ble, removed from mere individualistic 
opinion. 

I shall try to avoid philosophic spec- 
ulation while at the same time follow- 
ing human reason and the yearnings of 
the universal heart so far as seems to 



AUTHOR'S STATEMENT 

be consistent with the Holy Scriptures. 
Most of the views given reflect the gen- 
eral trend of thought of the great fa- 
thers and thinkers of the Christian era. 

Although mystery shrouds the inci- 
dent called death it is no greater than 
that which swaddles birth. And I per- 
sonally believe that God, in His infinite 
love, has revealed enough truth about 
our life beyond the grave to become the 
source of guidance, the anchor for faith 
and thus the basis of comfort for all 
who mourn the loss of loved ones. To 
such, and to this purpose, I dedicate 
this little book. 

The words of the following prayer of 
the ancient Church express both the 
true source and process of Comfort. 
From that source the following pages 
were drawn. My own words merely 
point to a few resting places for faith. 

"Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy- 
Scriptures to be written for our learning; 



AUTHOR'S STATEMENT 

Grant that we may in such wise hear them, 
read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, 
that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, 
we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed 
hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given 
us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen." 

J. A. SCHAAD. 

All Saints' Day, 
1913. 



Comfort Words 



"Wherefore comfort one another with these 
words." 

I Thess. 4:18. 

WHEN the heart is bowed down 
with grief over the death of a 
loved one the burdening thought usu- 
ally arises from a deep sense of the 
broken personal relationship. We do not 
then question so much about a future life 
or of the friend's condition in it. The 
thing for which the heart, perhaps self- 
ishly but very naturally, yearns most is 
the old, warm touch of the dear hand, 
the sound of the familiar voice, the 
kindling of the eye with the light of 
love, the fellowship of the mind. 

All these are now things of the past. 



COMFORT WORDS 

The world, and life itself, seems very 
bleak, — even to those who "look for the 
resurrection of the dead and the life of 
the world to come." That future event 
now seems so remote; the interval so 
long; the nature of the distant reunion 
so vague. To many there appears to be 
nothing left of possible relationship 
with the personality beloved, save the 
frequent strewing of flowers upon the 
cheerless grave in loving memory but 
dreary desolation. 

But is there nothing else, nothing 
better, to occupy the life of the sorrow- 
ing, to calm the distress and to retain 
or attain fellowship with the departed? 
Several answers are given to this ques- 
tion by various societies, — religious and 
otherwise. But the historic Christian 
Church has enshrined her answer in the 
Apostles' Creed in those beautiful words, 
"I believe in the communion of saints." 
Let us get clearly in our minds the 

meaning of these simple words. 
10 



COMFORT WORDS 



DEFINITION 



Technically, In Scripture usage, the 
word "saints" means holy ones. It is 
sometimes used in connection with Deity 
and the angels ; sometimes in connection 
with the faithful departed; and some- 
times, in fact very often, in connection 
with those who are still living upon the 
earth and striving to do right as the dis- 
ciples of Christ. 

The term "communion" means, fellow- 
ship. The "communion of saints" 
therefore means fellowship with or 
among all who have been made members 
of the mystical body of Christ and are 
children of God. 

We may not presume to say who are 
included among the children of God. 
We may neither include or exclude any- 
one. Our knowledge is too limited. 
Only He who looks upon and knows the 
heart of man knows who are in this spe- 
cial sense His. We are therefore not 
11 



COMFORT WORDS 

concerned now with the scope of this 
communion but only with the fact and 
process of it. 

The basis and method of communion 
among living men must be one or more 
of several things, — either a bond of love, 
or a likeness of nature, or a oneness of 
faith, or a similarity of ideals, or some 
work, suffering or hope which is had in 
common. In short, in order for any 
kind of fellowship to exist among living 
men, whether it be secular or religious, 
there must first be some common inter- 
est. And so it is perfectly natural and 
very reasonable that the term "commun- 
ion of saints," having reference to the 
spiritual realm, should refer chiefly, if 
not exclusively, to those who have some- 
thing in common spirituality. But we 
may not force the door of the invisible 
world to search for the limit of God's 
love in this respect. Perhaps His love 
exceeds our logic. 



19 



COMFORT WORDS 



NATURAL COMMUNION 

Among men who are living upon the 
earth there are a number of means of 
obtaining communion. There is con- 
versation, in which we talk face to face 
with one another. Then there is the 
telephone, by means of which we speak 
to persons at some distance. There is 
wireless telegraphy in which we span 
oceans and continents and have a kind 
of communion with more remote per- 
sons. But there is a sweeter, a more 
subtle and yet a very real sense in which 
living persons can have communion with 
one another without any of these agen- 
cies ; for communion does not necessa- 
rily mean conversation. 

Who of us has not had friends with 
whom no spoken or written words were 
necessary in order to have a mutual un- 
derstanding.^ The mere presence and 
human touch or look establishes a feel- 
ing of happy fellowship. Sometimes 
IS 



COMFORT WORDS 

that sense of communion is too deep and 
full for words. Conversation is then 
not only unnecessary but quite impossi- 
ble. 

Who of us has not had a friend with 
whom we could have communion in the 
silence, whether physically present with 
each other or not? In the quiet even- [ 
ing or during the undisturbed hours of I 
the night, for example, we think of our f 
living friends far away from us; and, ; 
strange as it may seem we all know that ; 
it is none the less true, we are in actual j 
communion with them, — a wonderfully , 
sweet communion and fellowship it is ^ 
too. We can almost touch them, they| 
seem so close to us. Sometlfing of this ; 
idea attaches to and is involved in the; 
"communion of saints." Who shall 
say that the spiritual realm has noth- 
ing, as a means of communion, which is 
analogous to wireless telegraphy or; 
processes of thought-conveyance in the^ 
physical and mental world? If this is 



COMFORT WORDS 

in any sense true, and I believe it is, we 
have a rational basis for the spiritual 
doctrine of communion between the liv- 
ing and the departed. What that com- 
munion is and how it may be brought 
about will be suggested as we pro- 
ceed. 

WHAT BECOMES OF THE SOUL? 

The article of the Christian creed in 
which we say, ^'I believe in the commun- 
ion of saints," presupposes three things. 
First, that death does not destroy per- 
sonality, — does not "end all." Second, 
that the soul at the hour of dissolution, 
called death, does not enter a state of 
finality. Third, that there is therefore 
nothing in the nature of the case, to pre- 
vent some kind of fellowship between men 
living on earth and those who have de- 
parted this life. These three proposi- 
tions involve certain other, secondary 
but vital, questions. And it is neces- 
sary to consider them carefully lest we 
15 



COMFORT WORDS 

either foolishly reject truth or too 
credulously accept error. 

The first question is. What becomes 
of the soul at the hour of physical 
death? Granting to others the right 
to speak for themselves, let me state 
what I apprehend to be the basic facts 
of this doctrine of historic Christendom. 
They are contained in the teaching of 
Christ and of His Apostles. Accord- 
ing to this ancient view the soul of man 
passes at the hour of physical death 
into an intermediate state between the 
earth-life and the final judgment. 

Whatever may be said about a par- 
ticular judgment for the individual at 
the hour of decease, or about degrees of 
intermediate felicity or woe for the de- 
parted, it proves nothing as to eternity. 
The Holy Scriptures are specific and 
clear on this point. According to them 
the hour of finality for the soul does 
not seem to come until the consumma- 
tion of the age at the end of the world. 
16 



COMFORT WORDS 

Where is the soul in the meantime? 
Let us consider this briefly. 

In the New Testament we find two 
Greek words, — Hades and Gehenna. 
These are commonly though mistakenly 
accepted as synonymous, and in the 
King James version of the Bible both 
are translated as "hell.'' This is cor- 
rected in the revised version. The 
Greek word Hades means simply and in 
general the unseen world, the abode of 
departed spirits. Gehenna means spe- 
cifically a place of torment or punish- 
ment. 

Hades is by far the most often-used 
word of the two in the New Testament. 
It is always used to represent conditions 
this side the final judgment. Gehenna, 
on the other hand, occurs rarely. And 
it is never synonymous with Hades. 
On the contrary, it refers always to 
conditions beyond the final judgment. 
Hades before^ Gehenna after the Judg- 
ment Day. If this simple fact is re- 
17 



COMFORT WORDS 

membered the Bible reader will be 
spared much confusion. From these 
two words we have the fact of death, 
the doctrine of an intermediate state, 
and the place and possibility of future 
punishment. 

AN ERROR 

The original use of these words in the 
Greek made their meaning perfectly 
clear. And until the translation of the 
Bible into English all Christendom be- 
lieved in the doctrine of an intermediate 
state which the word Hades teaches. 
Strangely enough since the King James 
version came into use the popular mind 
has given to the English word Hell the 
meaning, exclusively, of the seldom-used 
Greek word, Gehenna, — a place of final 
and eternal punishment. 

Thus the doctrine of an immediate 

and eternal hell-fire for the sinner came 

to be accepted; and the ancient truth 

about the intermediate state, which the 
18 



COMFORT WORDS 

good and more commonly-used Greek 
word Hades so generously expressed, 
was lost to a now-large portion of mod- 
ern Christendom. And it is a vital 
loss. It has robbed sorrowing human- 
ity of great comfort. Also it has pre- 
pared the way for all sorts of weird 
cults to prey upon the grief of the be- 
reaved. 

Doubtless the effort of the Protes- 
tant reformers to dispose of the Roman 
theory of purgatory helped to bring 
about this doctrinal change In the mean- 
ing of the word Hades. But in this 
respect they displayed a zeal without 
adequate care or knowledge. And it 
has produced spiritual disaster for 
countless persons during the past three 
centuries. For, if there is no middle 
life for the human soul, hope must per- 
ish for many and God would seem to 
be unjust. 

The effect of the translators' error as 

to the meaning of this word hell has 
19 



COMFORT WORDS 

been Increased by a • certain type of 
modern preaching and writing about 
the terrors of hell. The absurdity of 
this practice lies in the fact that most 
of such sermons and printed articles 
are indiscriminately based upon Scrip- 
ture texts in which the good Greek 
word ''Hades" occurs. Since Hades 
does not mean a place of punishment 
after the final judgment, but does mean 
a place of waiting for the soul until 
the Judgment Day, such teaching is 
not only absurd but false. 

The pathos of the case is that people 
are thus deprived of the comforting 
truth about the intermediate state. 
And their eyes are blinded to that ex- 
pression of the love of God. Fortu- 
nately the revised version of the Bible 
corrects this error. And it is to be 
hoped that this will help soon to re- 
store to men the Christian truth of the 
future life. No other correction of 
modern theology could yield more com- 
fort to man. 

SO 



COMFORT WORDS 

SOME FACTS 

Consider now three Instances In the 
New Testament which bear upon this 
subject. First, two parables spoken 
by Christ. There is the parable of the 
King who gave a supper. (Matt. 
22:11-14.) It will be remembered 
that one of the guests appeared without 
having on a wedding garment, and was 
cast out. That parable is a bit of 
natural Orientalism which needs to be 
explained. 

There were not then the facilities for 

rapid transit which we have now, and 

the guests, often coming long distances, 

arrived at different times. Around the 

palace there was a garden or park in 

which were baths, booths for rest, 

changes of raiment and attendants to 

minister to the comfort of the guests. 

As they arrived they were received in 

this park where they remained until the 

day of the feast. Then "when the King 
21 



COMFORT WORDS 

came in to see the guests," probably for 
the first time, he saw that one of the 
guests had not availed himself of the 
generous provision which he had made 
for him, and had come to the feast un- 
prepared. It was an act of ingrati- 
tude and great discourtesy. Hence the 
king cast him out. Now this garden 
or park is called in classical Greek 
"paradeisos" ; and it means a place of 
waiting. Christ used this word when 
addressing the penitent thief upon the 
cross. More of that later. 

Again we have the parable of Dives 
and Lazarus in which, according to our 
English Bibles (A. V.), Dives died and 
went to hell, — the Greek word is not 
Gehenna but Hades, the abode of de- 
parted spirits. Abraham and Lazarus 
were there too ! To be sure there was 
a "gulf fixed" between them and Dives. 
There was a diff^erence in their condi- 
tion. Lazarus was "comforted." 
22 



COMFORT WORDS 

Dives was "tormented." But the con- 
dition of the latter was not necessar- 
ily permanent as we shall presently 
see. 

Passing from parable to fact, we 
have the solemn scene on Calvary. 
Surely Christ would not use words 
there which could properly be construed 
as mere figures of speech. What then 
did He mean when He said to the peni- 
tent thief on the cross, "To-day shalt 
thou be with me in paradise"? Para- 
dise here cannot mean a final heaven 
because, first, the word means only a 
place of waiting; and second, because 
Christ Himself said that He did not 
go to heaven during the three days in 
which His body lay in the tomb. Did 
He not say to Mary on the resurrection 
morning, "I have not yet ascended into 
heaven"? And yet three days before, 
He said to the penitent thief, ^'To-day 

shalt thou be with me in paradise," 
53 



COMFORT WORDS 

THE MEANING 

What could these words mean? 
Where did Christ and His convert go 
that eventful day? The answer is 
given in that beautiful Greek word 
"paradeisos." Jesus said, "To-day 
shalt thou be with me in paradise," the 
place of waiting. "With me ... in 
Paradise." That absolutely fixes the 
place as a present intermediate fact and 
not a mere promise of a future state. 
We see then that both "hades" and 
"paradeisos" teach the fact of an inter- 
mediate state. (Questions as to the 
condition of the departed in that place 
will be considered later.) The Apos- 
tles also teach this as a fact. St. Peter, 
writing of the three days between the 
Crucifixion and the Resurrection, says 
that Christ "being put to death in the 
flesh, but made alive in the spirit . . . 
went and preached to the spirits in 
prison." (I Pet. 3:18-20.) This last 

24 



COMFORT WORDS 

phrase "spirits in prison" is another 
ancient figure of speech to denote the 
intermediate state. St. Peter here re- 
fers to those departed ones as persons 
"which sometime were disobedient . . . 
in the days of Noah." Think what is 
involved in this preaching of Christ to 
the "disobedient" and then already long- 
time dead! 

We find another phrase referring to 
the same fact in the Book of Revelation. 
(Rev. 6:10, 11.) Here St. John is 
speaking of things yet to come, and 
says, "I saw under the altar the souls 
of them that were slain for the word of 
God, and for the testimony which they 
held." This expression "souls under 
the altar" is another figurative phrase 
referring to the intermediate state or 
place of waiting. These souls were in 
a condition somewhat lower than the 
final beatific vision and entire satisfac- 
tion of heaven; for we read that "they 

cried saying, 'How long, O Lord, dost 
26 



COMFORT WORDS 

thou not judge and avenge our blood 
on them that dwell in the earth?' " 
Then, "White robes were given unto 
every one of them ; and it was said unto 
them that they ^should rest yet for a 
little season until their brethren (still 
on earth) who should be killed should 
be fulfilled.' " 

Again in the eleventh chapter of 
Hebrews we read that long list of an- 
cient patriarchs and saints. And the 
writer says that although these all had 
"obtained a good report through faith, 
yet they received not the promise." Be- 
cause God intended that "they without 
us should not be made perfect." They 
were evidently not yet in a final state 
or place. In these passages it is made 
quite clear that there is an intermediate 
state in which human souls, good and 
bad, continue their existence in varying 
degrees of felicity while awaiting a fu- 
ture judgment and finality. Meaning 

could scarcely be made more certain. 
S6 



COMFORT WORDS 



THE SOUL, AFTER DEATH 

We come now to the second question, 
— If human souls do go to such a place 
of waiting, before the final judgment, 
what is their condition there? We 
must steadfastly resist the natural 
temptation to speculate here; and I 
will endeavor to avoid that by keeping 
very close to the teaching of the Scrip- 
tures. If they do not speak plainly 
we must be silent. 

The first fact which the Scriptures 
make unmistakably clear is that the 
souls in the hades-life are conscious. 
Dives, Abraham and Lazarus could see, 
feel, think, and speak. The whole 
scene of the parable is meaningless if 
this is not true. Remember that Christ 
Himself gave that parable. It is a 
glimpse into the invisible world. Even 
though it is a story it portrays a fact. 
As the image of a man in a mirror de- 
clares the actual near-presence of a 
S7 



COMFORT WORDS 

man, so also does Christ's use of par- 
ables and figures of speech proclaim 
vital truth and actual fact. Since He 
gave this parable we have a right to be- 
lieve in the reality of the blessed vi- 
sion of future conditions which it re- 
veals. 

Again, in the teaching of St. Peter, 
Christ and the "spirits in prison" are 
shown to have had the same faculties 
and powers in the intermediate state as 
during their earth-life, — for Christ was 
able to preach to them and they were 
able to hear. The "souls under the al- 
tar" were in the same condition. They 
could see, they could remember earth- 
incidents, they could speak. They had 
longings and unfulfilled desires. From 
all of which it seems perfectly clear 
that there was no change in their per- 
sonality. There may have been a dif- 
ference in its manifestation, but there 

was no pause in their consciousness. 

.28 



COMFORT WORDS 

There undoubtedly were degrees of fe- 
licity, but these were not final. 

The third thing which seems per- 
fectly clear is that the spirits in the in- 
termediate world continue their inter- 
est in human affairs. Dives remem- 
bered his brothers ; remembered them 
with pathetically earnest desire to help 
them ; remembered them to the extent 
that he prayed for them, and asked that 
something might be done to warn them 
against impenitence. 

Fourth. Even those whom we call 
^'the faithful departed'' seem neither to 
be perfect at the hour of death nor 
are they supernaturally made holy by 
it. The martyred ''souls under the al- 
tar" remembered their persecutors who 
had killed them and were evidently still 
far from being perfect, because their 
prayer was that they might be avenged. 
They had not yet attained the perfec- 
tion of spiritual character which is set 
29 



COMFORT WORDS 

forth in the Beatitudes. Also they 
longed for the fulfillment of better 
things yet to come. They were very 
evidently not yet in a condition of -fi- 
nality as to either perfection or hap- 
piness. 

A fifth fact, — a blessed fact, which 
seems quite clear, is that the souls in the 
middle life are capable of progress. In 
the case of Dives we see the once-im- 
penitent Dives evidently awakening to 
religious faith and practice, — for he 
off'ered (perhaps the first time in his 
life) an unselfish prayer for others. 
Again if the departed are not capable 
of progress, why did Christ go in spirit 
and preach to the once disobedient 
"spirits in prison" .^^ His mission upon 
earth was to bring a knowledge of sal- 
vation to those who sat in spiritual 
darkness. To that end He revealed 
the way of life and manifested the love 
of God to men. Can you think that 

He went to the middle state for any 
30 



COMFORT WORDS 

less purpose than that? Can you think 
that He would give them the glad tid- 
ings of salvation just to torment them 
by showing them what they had missed? 
This is unthinkable. And so it fol- 
lows, necessarily, that the souls to whom 
He then preached must have been ca- 
pable of progress. 

We have here then three cases, — the 
parable of Christ regarding Dives, St. 
Peter's account of the "spirits in 
prison," and St. John's vision of "souls 
under the altar," in which spiritual 
progress after death is clearly taught 
as both necessary and possible. And 
if any souls who departed the earth-life 
ignorant of essential truth had oppor- 
tunity to learn it and to be benefited by 
it after physical death, then all such 
souls may have hope. 

TO EVERY SOUL A CHANCE 

I think St. Peter makes this even 

more certain when he says, referring to 
31 



COMFORT WORDS 

this subject, — "For this cause was the 
Gospel preached also to them that are 
dead, that they might be judged accord- 
ing to men in the flesh, but live accord- 
ing to God in the Spirit." (I Pet. 4: 
6.) These souls of the dead had not 
known and hence could not live accord- 
ing to the truth of God as revealed in 
Christ while they were in the flesh. 
But now in Hades, the place of wait- 
ing, they are given an opportunity to 
"live according to God in the spirit." 
This must mean that every human soul 
is to have its chance to be and to do 
right; and that it will be judged ac- 
cording to the use which is made of its 
opportunities both on earth and in 
hades. 

It seems quite certain however that 
Hades cannot be looked upon as a sec- 
ond chance. Those antediluvian men 
had not known Christ during their life- 
time. There is therefore not much sat- 
isfaction here for the man who does 
32 



COMFORT WORDS 

know the truth, and is offered the means 
of grace, but who will not repent of his 
sins during his earth-life or strive ear- 
nestly to develop his spiritual nature. 
If he spurns the love of God here on 
earth, why should he have a second 
chance to spurn it there. The hope for 
mercy does not warrant presumption 
upon the love of God. 

But we are warranted, by the facts 
revealed in the Holy Scriptures, in go- 
ing this far in our thought about the 
benefits of the intermediate state. We 
may believe that it is not only a chance 
for all who did not have it on earth, but 
that it is a continued chance to attain 
perfection of spiritual character for all 
those who became the children of God 
while on earth by meeting His terms of 
salvation to the best of their ability and 
opportunity. 

We are taught that "without holiness 
no man shall see the Lord." Since none 
^f us can attain perfect holiness here, 
33 



COMFORT WORDS 

there must therefore be some further 
provision m the divine plan so that we 
can attain it elsewhere. Hades, the in- 
termediate state, is such a place and op- 
portunity. That is a source of great 
comfort for us all. I submit that this 
shows the great love of God who would 
not that any should perish through a 
lack of knowledge of the truth or of 
opportunity to practice it perfectly. 

PROBATION AND JUDGMENT 

Just as this point, however, lie sev- 
eral questions of grave import. There 
is the question of probation ; of the re- 
lation of the fact of an intermediate 
state to the salvation of the non-Chris- 
tian world ; of the effect of this doctrine 
of further opportunity for us in the 
hades-life upon our own present moral 
conduct and earnestness of effort at 
spiritual development. 

It may be asked, "If the intermediate 

state offers all the opportunity which 
34 



COMFORT WORDS 

you claim for it, why should we be so 
deeply concerned about the future life 
here and now?" Let the Holy Scrip- 
tures answer: 'Tor we must all ap- 
pear before the judgment seat of Christ ; 
that every one may receive the things 
done in his body, according to that he 
hath done, whether it be good or bad." 
(II Cor. 5 :10.) Here the unmistakable 
teaching is that every soul will be 
judged according to the deeds done while 
it was in the body. It seems certain 
that so far as physical action and op- 
portunity are concerned probation ends 
at death. But the body is not all of 
man. St. Paul says, "There is a nat- 
ural body, and there is a spiritual 
body." 

A luminous thought is added in I 
Cor. 3:13-15. Here the line is clearly 
drawn between "any man's work" and 
the man "himself." It is distinctly 
stated that any man who has tried to 

build his life upon the true founda- 
35 



COMFORT WORDS 

tlon, Christ, may have either of two e^* 
periences, — "reward" or "loss," de- 
pending upon the quahty of his work. 
But that even in the latter case "he 
himself shall be saved ; yet so as by 
fire." There is no way by which he 
can go back and retrieve his loss. All 
questions of the physical life are closed 
at death. But, although we are then 
to be judged according to the deeds 
done in the body, we (i. e. the spiritual 
entity) may yet be "saved" and given 
an opportunity to "live according to 
God in the spirit." The past is irrev- 
ocable. Reward or punishment will be 
meted out to us. "Whatsoever a man 
soweth that shall he also reap." But 
the future of the soul itself evidently 
does, in a very vital sense, still lie be- 
fore us in the intermediate state. The 
possibility of progress there seems to be 
quite clearly revealed to us. Whether 
one avails himself of this depends of 

course upon the individual will. But 
36 



COMFORT WORDS 

comfort lies in the thought of the op- 
portunity. 

Another passage in the Gospel is pe- 
culiarly rich in suggestion upon this 
point. I refer to the words of Christ 
to His disciples on the night before His 
crucifixion: "In my father's house are 
many mansions." (John 14:2.) He 
was clearly speaking of facts beyond 
the grave. The Greek word here used 
sometimes denotes a place of refresh- 
ment for travelers. If that is the case 
here (as Wescott and some other schol- 
ars think) then the place referred to by 
Our Lord as "mansions" may be looked 
upon as further evidence of an inter- 
mediate state or place of waiting and 
refreshment en route to a final destina- 
tion. 

The popular current thought about 
this passage is that the "many man- 
sions" in the Father's house refer sym- 
bolically to the capacity of a final 

heaven. But it seems to me that it is 
37 



COMFORT WORDS 

with greater fidelity to fact to interpret 
these words of Christ to mean just what 
they say with reference to the Hfe of the 
soul, namely, that the soul will find 
places of refreshment after death in its 
progress towards perfection. The fol- 
lowing prayer, which is coming into 
quite general use, beautifully expresses 
this idea : 

"O Lord Jesus Christ, King of Paradise, 
With whom do live the souls of the faithful, 
after they are delivered from the burden of the 
flesh; Grant, we beseech thee, to our Christian 
departed, perpetual light, peace, refreshment 
and 'progression in the rest of paradise, and 
finally give them perfect consummation and 
bliss both in body and soul in thy eternal and 
glorious kingdom; through the same Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen." 

The quoted words of Christ (as well 
as the above prayer) refer primarily 
of course to His faithful disciples. And 
this very fact increases their signifi- 
cance and force as related to the 
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thought that finality does not await 
the soul at physical death. 

THE FAITHFUL IN PARADISE 

Just here another question naturally 
arises with reference to the "faithful 
departed." That is indeed a comfort- 
ing thought and hope which the inter- 
mediate state offers to those who could 
hardly expect it, if the theory of fi- 
nality for the soul at the hour of death 
were true. But it is equally important 
to ask if the intermediate state has any- 
thing of comfort to offer for those who, 
during their earth-life, have conscien- 
tiously tried to learn and to fulfill the 
terms of their religion. On the face of 
it, it might appear to some that, hav- 
ing earned a reward in heaven, the in- 
termediate state merely has the effect 
of indefinitely postponing their enjoy- 
ment of heaven. In answer it must first 
be said that to reason on this wise is 

to presume to sit in judgment upon 
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the degree of fitness for heaven which 
a departing soul may possess. No one 
but God knows that. But, apart from 
any individual case, let us consider the 
condition of the faithful departed in 
general after death. What do the 
Scriptures say on that point? Let me 
present only three of many beautiful 
ideas. 

(a) Our Lord said that when Laz- 
arus died "Angels carried him into 
Abraham's bosom." Two ideas are con- 
tained in this statement. The first is 
that to the souls of the faithful there 
is no dark loneliness between the earth- 
life and the hereafter. The "Valley of 
the Shadow of Death" is robbed of its 
terrors. God's rod of defense and staff 
for guidance and support are there. 
Angel ministers accompany the devout 
soul from its house of clay to the spirit 
world. Christ rather pointedly omit- 
ted that reference when speaking of the 

impenitent Dives. Of him it was merely 
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said that the " rich man died also and 
in hell lifted up his eyes." Again, 
the term "Abraham's bosom" is a He- 
brew figure of speech to denote the 
highest concept of human felicity. 
Whatever else the figure may mean, 
Our Lord specifically diff^erentiated be- 
tween the two men in the parable, — 
Lazarus was comforted in Abraham's 
bosom, while the impenitent Dives was 
in some degree and kind of torment, — 
both being thus, for a time, "rewarded 
according to the deeds done in the 
body." 

(b) St. John writes: "I heard a 
voice from heaven saying unto me, 
^Blessed are the dead who die in the 
Lord for they do rest from their la- 
bors.' " (Rev. 14:13.) Here we have, 
in addition to any purification or prog- 
ress of which the soul may still be in 
need, the fact that in Paradise the souls 
of the faithful have "rest." It is to 

be noted that this rest does not mean 
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idleness. The phrase is^ "rest from 
their labors.'' Idleness is not rest. 
Work is not labor. Most of us labor 
at our work. Many of us labor at our 
play or at merely living. Christ in- 
vites us to learn of Him how to do our 
work without labor; to "find rest unto 
your souls," — not by idleness but by 
wearing His easy "yoke." Few of us 
learn to do this on earth. But St. 
John writes of those who are said to 
"rest" in Paradise that they attain 
this felicity there, for "their works do 
follow them." It is a happy, con- 
tented work without friction or labor. 
Idleness is neither rest nor bliss. An 
eternity of it would be worse punish- 
ment for most of us than labor. But 
to be in a state where one can do his 
chosen or assigned work without labor, 
— that is rest and felicity. The faith- 
ful departed have that. 

(c) On one occasion when Our 

Lord was speaking of conditions after 

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death He said that we should be "as 
the angels of God." The word is not 
that we shall become angels^ but that 
we shall become as the angels. How is 
that? In answer to the question, 
''What is man?" we read this in the 
Bible: "Thou madest him a little 
lower than the angels," during his 
earth-life. But now after the soul has 
escaped the impediments of the flesh it 
is "crowned with (a greater) glory 
and honor." Its life henceforth is as 
the angels of God. What is the life of 
the angels of God? Here calm judg- 
ment forbids us to speculate. Two 
things however are definitely taught in 
the Scriptures : First, the angels of 
God are not subject to our limitations 
as to time, and space, nor to the physi- 
cal temptations of man. Second, they 
enjoy the visible presence and compan- 
ionship of Christ. 

O Paradise! O Paradise! 

Who doth not crave for rest 
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Who would not seek the happy land 
Where they that love are blest. 
Where loyal hearts and true 
Stand ever in the light 
All rapture through and through 
In God's most holy sight. 

CHRISTIAN TRUTH VS. OCCULTISM 

Now, in View of all these things, — In 
view of the fact that the soul is con- 
scious ; that it is in a state this side 
of finality ; that it possesses all its nor- 
mal faculties and powers ; that it is in 
a condition capable of progress ; that 
it remembers the past and perhaps 
knows present earthly conditions ; what, 
if any, may be the relationship between 
the living and the departed .^^ 

The Church says, communion, fellow- 
ship. But it should be noted that the 
"communion of saints" does not mean 
communication with saints. And that 
statement at once disqualifies all spir- 
itistic cults. If it were true that souls 
may be called back from the spirit 
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world by every greasy-fingered, table- 
rapping, lucre-greedy medium, it 
would mean that it is possible for the 
living to retard the progress of the 
dead for personal gain! And it pre- 
supposes a number of other things 
which are unbelievable, but which lack 
of time forbids us to consider now. 
No, — the communion of saints does not 
mean communication with them. 

If we needed any further proof for 
this we have it in the fact that there 
never yet has been an authentic, in- 
telligible message received by occult 
mediumship from the supposed-to-be 
spiritual world. The alleged messages 
thus far announced have been the 
merest gibberish and puerility. Typi- 
cal example of this is the case of a 
noted psychologist, recently deceased, 
who is reported to have credentialed his 
alleged message from the spirit world 
by referring to a "red necktie''' and a 

certain "pair of pajamas" which he 
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wore while on earth! Moreover the re- 
cent exposure of the world's greatest 
and most vouched-for professional 
medium, Eusapia Palladina, who was 
caught using mechanical tricks and 
paraphernalia in producing alleged 
spiritistic communications and other oc- 
cult results, robs mediumship of valid 
credentials. 

I cannot believe that souls in the mid- 
dle life, surrounded as they are by more 
distinctly spiritual conditions than they 
had here, would either indulge in the 
characteristic twaddle of spiritism or 
lend themselves to the exploitation of 
their bereaved friends for the personal 
gain of professional mediumship. If 
God had intended that our loved ones 
should return to us from paradise do 
you not think that He would have pro- 
vided a natural method by which they 
could do so directly, by personal inti- 
macy with us rather than through the 

manipulations and in the presence of 
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strangers? Nothing else seems either 
reasonable, natural or Godlike. 

TRUE FELLOWSHIP 

The Church's doctrine of the com- 
munion of saints does not mean occult 
charlatanism. But the historic Church 
teaches that it does mean blessed per- 
sonal fellowship in Christ by prayer 
and sacraments. There never was a 
time in the life of the historic Chris- 
tian Church when any branch of it did 
not have prayers for the dead in its 
Liturgy. From the Apostolic age un- 
til the 16th century all branches of the 
Church Catholic had prayers for the 
departed at every Eucharist. And it 
was customary to have the Holy Ep- 
charist at Christian funerals, at whici 
times specific mention was made of the 
soul of the particular departed brother 
or sister. There is the true communion 
and fellowship of saints in the mystical 

body of Christ. 

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It is a wonderful thing that, in spite 
of the stress and storm of the Reforma- 
tion period of the 16th century, in 
which the Church of England in the 
defense of her principles and Liturgy 
had to contend with the extremes of 
Roman Catholics on one side and of 
the Puritans on the other, we still have 
preserved for us in the prayer for 
Christ's Church Militant, the germ of 
an ancient prayer for the departed. 
It is only a brief statement ; but thank 
God it is there, — a silent but potent 
witness to the fact that the English 
speaking branch of the Holy Catholic 
Church still holds that comforting doc- 
trine of communion by prayer and sac- 
rament with those who have gone be- 
fore us into the unseen world. 

But here just a word of caution. 
Prayers for the dead do not mean pray- 
ing to the dead. Prayers to the dead 
lead easily to certain modern forms of 

idolatry. Prayers for the dead mean 

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that although the loved ones are gone, 
they are not forgotten. Prayers for 
the dead are a much more practical way 
in which love can be expressed by the 
living than the mere placing of flowers 
upon the grave, beautiful as that sym- 
bolic act is, — for the flowers can do 
the deceased little if any good. But 
our prayers, following the soul in its 
continuous journey, may do it much 
good. This I firmly believe. Also I 
believe that as there is Scripture evi- 
dence to warrant our prayers for the 
dead so there is much ground too for 
thinking that they pray for us. Even 
the once impenitent Dives in hades 
prayed for his brothers on earth. And 
this belief increases our comfort and 
joy in the communion of saints. 

FAITH AND REASON 

Just one thought more. In addition 

to the teaching of the Scriptures, I 

want to call attention to a further 
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basis upon which the faith in and prac- 
tice of praying for the dead, as a phase 
of our comforting doctrine of the com- 
munion of saints, may rest. First, 
there is Reason. The natural law of 
human love would lead us to do that, if 
wrong teaching in years past had not 
blinded our eyes to this truth. If we 
remember that the departing soul is 
merely beyond our physical vision on 
its continuous journey of life, the case 
for faith is greatly simplified. 

Consider an analogy. Those of us 
who pray do not cease our intercessions 
for friends merely because they may be 
away from home on a journey. As a 
matter of fact the impulse to pray for 
loved ones increases because of their 
absence from us. Why, in reason, 
should the case be different with ref- 
erence to the deceased? They are 
merely in another realm of God's uni- 
verse. That is no reason for cutting 

their names off our prayer-list. Quite 
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the opposite. For not even infinite 
space is beyond the reach of our faith 
or of the love and power of God. 

The second basis for faith in and 
practice of this truth is the very logic 
of life. If asked that old question, "If 
a man die shall he live again," I should 
answer "No. He shall not live 
again, he merely continues to live." 
The life everlasting in which we believe 
is everlasting because it is continuous. 
Life in all its phases is one continuous 
whole. The souls of the departed- do 
not sleep until the resurrection ; have 
not yet gone to a state of finality; 
have not ceased to exist ; and are still 
within the tender embrace of a "faith- 
ful Creator and most merciful Saviour." 
So long then as the soul is on this side 
of finality, the very logic of life per- 
mits and requires that we should fol- 
low our deceased friends with our 
prayers on their life- journey in para- 
dise. And that will be until the res- 
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urrectlon and final Judgment consum- 
mate earthly affairs. 

WHY? 

You may wonder why so much stress 
should be laid upon this doctrine. I 
wish that the Church had always 
stressed it. If she had it would not 
now be so necessary to try to "banish 
and drive away" from among us that 
monstrous and very modern theory of 
an immediate and eternal hell-fire pun- 
ishment for all the deceased who are 
not perfectly holy at the hour of death. 
Punishment of evil there must be of 
course. And it must be as certain as 
the reward for good. Perhaps some 
will always remain impenitent. We 
hope not. But if so their punishment 
will have to be as eternal as their evil 
lives. 

But it seems inconsistent with divine 
love that a human being, stricken per- 
haps in the midst of its very proper ac- 
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tivities in this earth-life, and not yet 
perfect enough to go at once into the 
sacred presence of an all-holy God, is 
to be instantly but eternally damned; 
that because of some moral failures in 
this life, through heredity or our com- 
mon human weakness, the soul should be 
forever doomed; that because of some 
iatellectual heterodoxy, due perhaps to 
environment or limited knowledge, the 
soul should go out into endless night ; 
that a soul created in the image of God 
should be forever shut out from His 
presence because of some disfigurement, 
acquired perchance through ignorance, 
in this world of sin. 

There never was a more cruel doc- 
trine taught among men than that. It 
is not a part of the Gospel of Christ. 
It was conceived in ecclesiastical preju- 
dice during the stormy days of recent 
centuries ; it was born from ignorance 
of the history of doctrine and the 

simple meaning of a few Greek words ; 
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it was nourished in and by an unpar- 
alleled bigotry ; and it has been retained 
by many through sheer timidity. It is 
a travesty upon the love of God. 

Another reason why this doctrine 
needs to be stressed, now-a-days, is to 
vindicate the justice of God. For 
many years I could not reconcile the 
justice of God with the theory of life 
and death which was commonly taught 
during the 19th century. I felt that if 
the then-current "hell-fire" theory 
were true then God was less just, not 
to say loving, than man. And this lat- 
ter I could not believe. Careful study 
of the Scriptures, particularly of the 
teachings of Christ, convinced me that 
those awful ideas of God are not true. 

If these things were publicly taught 
more aggressively than they are it 
would soon break the power of spirit- 
istic cults which bring in all manner of 
false and foolish theories,- — theories so 

absurd that nothing but a hungry, be- 
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reaved heart would receive them. If 
we could only make the glad tidings of 
"Paradise" more perfectly known to 
men these cults could not fatten on 
the credulity of their dupes, — could not 
"with feigned words make merchandise" 
of them. 

This doctrine ought also to be em- 
phasized more than it is because it 
shows both the purpose and the inclu- 
siveness of the Christian Church. It is 
greater, broader than men commonly 
think, — and more essential to life. 
There is Christ's Church militant on 
earth; Christ's Church expectant in 
Paradise; and Christ's Church ulti- 
mately triumphant, in heaven. But un- 
til the resurrection and final Judgment 
at the consummation of the age Christ's 
Church both militant and expectant is 
the home of God's children, — both good 
and bad, on earth and in the hades- 
life. "Let both grow together until 
the harvest," He said. The "harvest" 
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is the final judgment. Until that day 
the Church, which is the Body of Christ, 
is intended to include, to help and to be 
the home for all who desire to be good, 
and who are trying to do right accord- 
ing to the light, opportunity and 
strength given them. The doctrine of 
the communion of saints binds all these, 
living and dead, together in one blessed 
fellowship. 



HOPE 

Upon all these and other grounds it 
seems reasonable to believe that when 
the children of God (and only He knows 
who they are) depart this life, God has 
provided for them a "Paradeisos," a 
place of waiting, in which the soul, at- 
tended by His angel ministers, may lay 
aside its travel-stained earth-garments 
and may obtain the "wedding garment" 
of the perfection which He requires. I 
believe that in that hades-life the soul, 
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stripped of the impediments of the 
flesh with its inherited and acquired evil 
tendencies, weaknesses and sins, may 
more nearly rise to its own ideals and 
attain unto the perfection of Christ. 
I believe this upon the basis of Scrip- 
ture teaching, Reason, the logic of life, 
and because it vindicates the justice and 
love of God. These things are not "of 
the faith," but neither are they con- 
trary to it. Rather they make faith in 
God reasonable, vital, real and (shall I 
say it) possible. 

Finally this doctrine should be more 
freely taught than it is because it com- 
forts sorrowing hearts. It was after 
some explanation of this great truth to 
the Thessalonian Christians (I Thess. 
4: 13-18), that the Apostle St. Paul 
concluded by saying, "Wherefore com- 
fort ye one another with these words." 
Nothing less than the doctrine of an 
intermediate state and the communion 

of saints really can offer much of com- 
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fort to the average human being. And 
I trust that as we think about these 
things more deeply, we may believe 
them more firmly ; and so believing, may 
by the practice of prayer for the de- 
parted and by Sacramental fellowship 
with them enter into a personal realiza- 
tion of its many blessings. May there 
come to all who mourn the sweetness 
and the calm and the comfort of the 
communion of saints in the mystical 
body of Christ! 

"O Almighty God, who hast knit together 
thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in 
the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord; 
Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed Saints 
in all virtuous and godly living, that we may 
come to those unspeakable joys which thou hast 
prepared for those who unfeignedly love thee; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." 



THE END 



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